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5 

 them to continue and invite the other States to join in on the protection of our 

 recreational waters. We invite and actively encourage the involvement of all those 

 interested in this process. 



EPA Perspectives on the Proposed Legislation 



Let me now turn to the provisions of H.R. 31, the B.E.A.C.H. bill. We agree 

 that recreational water standards, monitoring methods, and pollution notification 

 requirements to safeguard swimmers should utilize a consistent approach as 

 demonstrated in the revised EPA Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Bacteria 

 prepared in 1986. In the interest of public health, it is important that information 

 on harmful microbiological pathogen pollution be conveyed to all potential 

 recreational water users by either informing them of the hazards or preventing their 

 contact with these disease causing pollutants through the States efforts in public 

 notification or closure of beaches. 



As I have already stated, prevention of recreational water pollution and the 

 establishment of consistent microbiological standards, monitoring methods, and 

 notification/closure criteria and their application in the protection of public health is 

 a task that requires cooperation among all stakeholders. It is important that the 

 science be developed to provide the data base on the microbiological pathogens of 

 concern. This would include the nature and fate of the organisms in recreational 

 waters, the development of rapid, reliable and cost effective methods to detect and 

 quantify their presence, the determination of their infectious dose, and the 



